Manufacturing a precision surface requires a balance between satisfying the optimum quality requirements at the minimum cost. Steve Martinek summarizes the challenges of increasing the precision ...

For the first time ever, NASA will attempt to mimic the resolution of an 8-meter optical telescope via the light-combining art of interferometry --- all while using an instrument platform on a balloon ...

The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at Paranal Observatory has just seen another extension of its already impressive capabilities by combining interferometrically the light from two ...

Topography becomes more important in quality assurance for manufacturing. This regards the characterization of macro-sized to medium optics and the optimization of a manufacturing process using a ...

Laser self-mixing interferometry (SMI) harnesses the phenomenon of optical feedback by reinjecting a fraction of a laser’s output back into its cavity. This reinjection leads to an interference effect ...

Large-scale atom interferometers, analogous to optical interferometers but measuring the difference in phase between atomic matter waves on different paths, are intended to be key elements in future ...

While the E-ELT (Extremely Large Telescope – 39.3 meter mirror) and its first suite of scientific instruments are being constructed, a third generation of instruments for the Very Large Telescope ...

The ESO (European Southern Observatory) has announced the successful observation of an exoplanet using optical interferometry. It's the first time an exoplanet has been "seen" in this manner and the ...

One of the biggest challenges for nanoscale fabrication is how to measure devices on such a minute scale. As the semiconductor industry demands ever smaller devices, the need for reliable, robust ...